


Speak Now

by aggiepuff, Whedonista93



Series: Zutara Week 2019 [2]
Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Ambiguous/Open Ending, Angst, F/M, So much angst, Zutara Week 2019, speak, we couldn't resist
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-30
Updated: 2019-07-30
Packaged: 2020-07-27 05:37:43
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 608
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20040799
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/aggiepuff/pseuds/aggiepuff, https://archiveofourown.org/users/Whedonista93/pseuds/Whedonista93
Summary: It's a day of celebration, but Katara can't bring herself to be happy.





	Speak Now

Bittersweet. 

The word echoed through Katara’s head like a mantra. The new firelord - the one who everyone believed would be the first in generations to rule in peace - was getting married. The whole of the capitol was awash in red and gold and joy. She could still hear the celebrations from the streets inside the inner Fire Chapel of the palace.

Katara wished she could be happy. She even might be, despite her pain, if she thought Zuko was happy, but…

Zuko’s mouth pressed firmly closed, eyes dark, expression grim. He was stunning in Fire Nation red and gold, the crown in his topknot glinting in the firelight, but,  _ Spirits, he’s not happy _ . She could see it, if no one else could. There was no spark. The light she always saw, the one that made her trust him in the caves beneath Ba Sing Se, it was  _ gone. _

Suki reached for her hand and squeezed tight.

“This isn’t right,” Katara whispered, unable to tear her eyes from the dais.. 

Suki squeezed again. “I know.”

“He’s going to be miserable.”

“I know.”

Katara squeezed her eyes shut.

“You can sneak out. I’ll cover for you,” Suki offered.

Katara shook her head. “I can’t do that to him.” She gestured vaguely between the pillars behind which she cowered and the very front row where Sokka, Toph, and Aang sat next to Iroh. “It’s bad enough I’m hiding in the back.”

“He asked you, didn’t he?” Suki asked. “About what you thought of him marrying Mai?”

Katara breathed deep, feeling the ache in her chest expand, as if it was trying to fill her lungs. She opened her mouth. Yes, Zuko asked her and it took everything she had not break right then. She closed her mouth. If she spoke now, if she ruined this for Zuko, she could never forgive herself. Instead, she nodded. 

“Why didn’t you speak up?”

Katara shrugged helplessly. When she spoke, her voice was weak, helpless. “He… he’s got this thing about duty. Kind of like he used to have about honor. Mai is Fire Nation nobility. He wants to do right by his people. More than anything.”

Suki looked up just in time to catch Zuko’s eyes intently focused on the shadows where they stood. “Maybe not anything,” she muttered.

“What?”

“Nothing.” The doors flung wide. “Here comes the bride.”

Katara squeezed Suki’s hand hard enough her knuckles turned white. The warrior almost winced.

Mai stood tall and proud, gliding effortlessly down the aisle. Her dark dress wasn’t traditional by  _ any _ standard and a very petty part of Katara had to bite back an audible scoff. She forced herself to look at Zuko and regretted it the moment she took in the expression on his face. He had gone from grim to blank and Katara couldn’t take it.

She released Suki’s hand. “I’m sorry. I can’t- I just… I can’t-”

Katara turned and slipped through the open doors, barely forcing herself to keep a sedate pace down the hall, only stopping when she couldn’t hear the music from the chapel anymore. She pressed her face into a pillar, shame and heartache overwhelming everything else. A sob escaped and echoed through the empty hall. She clamped a hand over her mouth but it was too late. Tears fell, hot and fast.

Footsteps thumped softly against the tile. Katara couldn’t bring herself to turn around. They were too heavy for Suki and Suki would have let her go. It took everything in her not to run from the chapel. Suki would let her have this moment to pull herself together. 

A gentle hand gripped her shoulder. “Katara…”


End file.
